Uses of Mobile Information Technology Devices in the Field for Design, Construction, and Asset Management (2016)

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16 CHAPTER FOUR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND OPTIMIZATION PERCEPTIONS AND EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE Technologies are widely adopted only when they are easily used and cost-effective. In the case of mobile devices, IT departments see a higher value for the devices than end users do: 45% of IT departments and 32% of end users believe that the return on investment is greater than 50%, which is encouraging. However, 13% of those in IT departments and 15% of end users believe that mobile IT devices pro- duce a negative ROI (Figure 24). The top three challenges reported by the state transportation agencies surveyed were connectivity issues, cost-effectiveness, and maintaining the devices. Support and poor/ineffective applications also were mentioned as challenges (Table 6). 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Negative ROI >0–25% >25–50% >50–75% >75–100% 100%+ What do you believe is the overall ROI from your agency's mobile IT use? IT End user Pe rc en ta ge o f r es po nd en ts Return on investment FIGURE 24 IT and end user perceptions of mobile IT device return on investment (ROI). Performance evaluation and feedback help make the business case for mobile device use. The majority of STAs focus on cost-related issues. Efficiencies gained, device durability, and a cost-benefit analysis are frequently used metrics in evaluation. However, a formal cost-benefit analy- sis methodology does not exist across agencies. The cost of the devices can be determined by the purchase orders and maintenance services provided, but it is difficult to measure the benefit. Often, STAs quantify their benefit by time saved in reporting data from the field rather than traveling back to the truck, the jobsite trailer, or perhaps even the district office. This approach captures one benefit of mobile devices, but it misses other items, such as consistent access to e-mails and project plans. Those benefits are more difficult to quan- tify, as they occur randomly and the previous alternatives are often forgotten. End user approval is the second most often used metric in device selection, which shows that agencies understand the need to consider their consumers’ opinions (Figure 25). TABLE 6 MOST SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES TO MOBILE IT USE Challenges IT Overall Rank End User Overall Rank Connectivity issues (loss of cell signal) 1 2 Device maintenance and user support 2 3 Application maintenance and support 3 6 Cost-effectiveness 4 1 Poor/ineffective applications 5 4 Interoperability issues (software incompatibility) 6 7 Lack of security of collected data 7 14 Poor durability/lack of ruggedness 8 8 Electronic signatures/approval 9 13 Quality of collected data 10 11 End user resistance 11 10 Training requirements 12 9 Battery life 13 12 Deploying devices to employees 14 5 Other 15 15 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 When evaluating performance of the mobile IT devices, what metrics are considered? Ag ilit y/f lex ibi lity fo r d esi red ta sks Co st- be ne fit an aly sis FIGURE 25 Metrics used in evaluating performance. FUTURE OF MOBILE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The use of mobile IT devices in the field increased in the past few years, and this trend promises to continue: 64%

17 of the STAs surveyed plan to expand their use of mobile IT devices, whereas only 2% believe they will not (Figure 26). Many of the STAs believe the landscape will change owing to more significant investments, more detailed policies, and more adjusted users. Although consultants have identified more advanced uses for the devices, the STAs are just skim- ming the surface, and they are aware of this. Yes 64% No 2% Unsure 34% Does your agency plan on expanding its use of mobile IT? FIGURE 26 Future expansion of mobile IT devices. Several initiatives are under way to expand usage. The ones most frequently mentioned are deploying additional devices and purchasing and investigating more progressive devices. Ongoing development of applications and documen- tation of uses are other considerations for expansion plans.